Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a limited slip differential, comprising:
a housing rotatable about an axis;
two bevel side gears in said housing at opposite ends thereof, said side gears being arranged for torque transmitting engagement with respective output shafts and being rotatable within the housing about said axis;
respective clutch assemblies disposed between the outermost ends of said side gears and said housing, each clutch assembly comprising at least one member rotationally fast with the associated side gear and at least one member rotationally fast with the housing, said members being frictionally engageable with one another;
two bevel planet gears each meshing with both side gears and supported in said housing for rotation about a planet gear axis perpendicular to said axis;
thrust members engaging said side gears; and
spring means operable on said thrust members to urge them and the side gears away from one another to cause said frictional engagement in said clutch assemblies. Such a limited slip differential will hereafter be referred to as a limited slip differential of the kind specified.
In a limited slip differential of the kind specified, the clutch assemblies provide the required slip-limiting properties. The force exerted by the spring means on the thrust members is augmented by the forces which arise between the meshing bevel planet gears and bevel side gears, but the spring means is necessary to ensure that the clutch assemblies are always pre-loaded to some extent. When such a differential is being assembled, the pre-load exerted by the spring means on the clutch assemblies by way of the thrust members and side gears can cause some problems in introducing all the components into the housing in the correct manner.